In Judaism there was the proverb, “The more Torah the more life” (Mishnah, Aboth 2.7). The typical Jewish view in Paul’s day was that God gave the law to counteract the sinful human impulse. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ![]() Salvation, therefore, in every respect, is not your own doing. This use of the neuter pronoun to take in the whole of a complex idea is quite common in Greek (e.g., 6:1) its use here makes it clear that faith, no less than grace, is a gift of God. Accordingly, “this” points to the whole process of “salvation by grace through faith” as being the gift of God and not something that we can accomplish ourselves. The Greek pronoun is neuter, while “grace” and “faith” are feminine. Faith is a confident trust and reliance upon Christ Jesus and is the only means by which one can obtain salvation. sesōsmenoi, perfect tense) communicates that the Christian’s salvation is fully secured. 5:9) “by grace you have been saved” is repeated from Eph. Saved refers to deliverance from God’s wrath at the final judgment (Rom. God’s grace not only offers salvation but also secures it. But grace may also be understood as a “power” in these verses. Read Moreīy grace refers to God’s favor upon those who have transgressed his law and sinned against him. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. And this is not your own doing it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8–9įor by grace you have been saved through faith. ![]() All commentary notes adapted from the ESV Study Bible. God made people good, but they have found many ways to be bad.This article is part of the Key Bible Verses series. “There is one other thing I have learned. I am still looking for answers, but I did find this: I found one good man in a thousand. The Teacher says, “I added all this together to see what answer I could find. God’s followers should run away from them. It is worse than death to be caught by these women. Their hearts are like nets, and their arms are like chains. I also found that some women are dangerous like traps. I did learn that it is foolish to be evil, and it is crazy to act like a fool. I studied and I tried very hard to find true wisdom. I cannot understand why things are as they are. I wanted to be wise, but I couldn’t do it. I used my wisdom and thought about all these things. And you know that many times you too have said bad things about other people. ![]() You might hear your own servant saying bad things about you. But wisdom can make one person stronger than ten leaders in a city.ĭon’t listen to everything people say. Surely there is no one on earth who always does good and never sins. Even God’s followers will do some good things and some bad things. Try to be a little of this and a little of that. So why ruin your life? Don’t be too good or too bad, and don’t be too wise or too foolish. I have seen good people die young, and I have seen evil people live long lives. ![]() In my short life, I have seen everything. And no one knows what will happen in the future. But when life is hard, remember that God gives us good times and hard times. You cannot change a thing, even if you think it is wrong.
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